confit de canard

Confit de canard: five syllables of seduction. In Paris the gent and I had this at Brasserie Balzar, where it came gorgeously crisped, accompanied by a wonderful gravy and sautee potatoes. We enjoyed a wonderful, chewy, strawberry Beaujolais (2006) and the amazing moustache on our waiter. The next restaurant served the confit without gravy, and with fried potatoes. Unforgettable times.

Here is the perennially wonderful Nigel on the subject:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2003/feb/09/foodanddrink.shopping6

To find the optimal way of cooking this the smartest thing to do, of course, iwould be to look at recipes and writing from the best cookery writers. However, I am curious about how much of a difference the differing methods make. I am keen to make this myself so I can play with the curing stage, and the time spent poaching in fat. I would, secondarily, be interested to see if the the length of time it is stored in the hard-fat block changes the end product.

In my grand plan I will make three versions varying the curing stage and treat them the same for the rest of the cooking stages. Then from this, I will take the best curing method and start again: cure it the best way and cook it for three different lengths of time to find the optimal result.

Now all I need is an empty weekend, a kitchen to myself, and a working oven.

Hobnobbing

I didn't realise how much I utilise the oven until over-summering in this flat without one.

I have several times planned an oven-cooked meal and had the raw ingredients in my shopping basket, before recalling that I have only a hob to cook with. One shameful supermarket chicken pie - now languishing in the freezer - made it all the way home and out of the cardboard before I remembered. I actually considered how else I could make it edible - slicing it up to fry? Steam?

The last thing to catch me out was planning this Italian aubergine dish, which Bert had raved about:
http://www.lifestylefood.com.au/recipes/1993/eggplant-parmigiana-melanzana-alla-parmigiana

I have been meaning to make this for some time from an Anna del Conte recipe but am separated from my cook books. And, as I later recalled, aubergine in hand, oven. So until I am back in my own flat, this dish will have to go on the backburner.

Is it wrong to laugh at your own jokes?